There was a quote from Mike Babcock on Tuesday afternoon that I thought really spoke well to what he has to teach the young Maple Leafs.

One thing he can teach them is that they won't be young forever.

“You're here. You have an opportunity,” Babcock said. “[What] I told the young guys today is you think when you're a young guy you think oh next year, next year, next year. Next year never comes in sport. You make good on the opportunities you get. You put everything into it and then if it doesn't go your way you regroup. But put everything into it here. We've got an opportunity just like they do. We're going to put our skates on just like they do. We're going to Washington. We plan on winning.”

That is a powerful message. It's the perfect message for a team of kids new to the league that is going to be told again and again how and why they're the underdog and they're unlikely to win this...

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